ASU Students Back Away from $2B Bond

The Appalachian State University Student Government Association voted down a resolution in support of the $2 billion Connect NC bond at their meeting Tuesday evening – after tabling a resolution in support of the bond earlier this month.The action might seem surprising because the bond, if passed, among other projects would provide $70 million to the university to build a new Health Sciences building.

The change came after Nicole Revels, who is spearheading the group Against the Bond, spoke at the SGA meeting.

Revels said that she decided to go speak there after hearing that university Chancellor Sheri Everts had sent out an email to the student body in support of the bond.

After she spoke at the meeting, the student leaders decided to hold off on the resolution until they could further explore the topic.

“They had the resolution in the agenda and allowed me to speak for 10 minutes from the opposition side,” Revels said. “The body decided to shelve the resolution and no more research.”

SGA members had concerns about how their vote might be perceived politically, she said. “One of the main issues was how their statement on the bond would be used:

The group spent two weeks reviewing the proposed bond package before readdressing the issue Tuesday night.

Revels said that state Reps. Jonathan Jordan (R-Watauga) and Dean Arp (R-Union) came to speak at the meeting in support of the bond, but the group still voted down the resolution.

Nick Williams, an SGA senator, said the body is interested in “strong inquiry” when voting on important topics and that he is proud of the “lively debate” in the student government surrounding the bond.

“I think the debate provoked many important questions that needed to be answered,” Williams said. “The Appalachian State Student Government decided to approach the question of support for the bond on an individual basis rather than an overall organizational endorsement. This was an important vote that will prompt more transparency and dialogue for future matters.”

The bond was originally billed as a transportation bond but the final product does not include any transportation projects.

Instead, 49 percent of the funds will go to the University of North Carolina system, while 17 percent will go to the state’s community college system.

The other largest chunk of the bond, at 16 percent, is directed to grants for local parks and water/sewer bonds.

I currently serve as the Student Body President at Appalachian State, if you all have any questions, please email me. I encourage folks to look beyond the scope of the misinterpreted SGA Senate meeting that is portrayed in the article above. We are dealing with a group of less than 100 students (0.47% of the student body). Students simply wanted more information, which is normal when making any decision. The SGA Senate did not back away from anything; they simply knew it was not the right time to move forward, out of respect for other students at ASU who may want to know more. And after a decent amount of research, some of the comments made by the opposition group were inaccurate and misleading. What occurred in that meeting is not an accurate portrayal of ASU.

[…] gave “Connect NC” campaign $70,000.00, despite the ASU student government having rejected a measure of support for the bond. They are slated to receive $70 million in bond money. NC State gave $160,000.00 to […]